Pige der sidder i en stol og læser 1869 - 1945

Curator: This captivating piece is entitled "Pige der sidder i en stol og læser" - "Girl Sitting in a Chair Reading" - by Ludvig Find, created sometime between 1869 and 1945. The medium appears to be pencil on paper, housed here at the SMK. Editor: The image is immediately striking, but deeply melancholy. She sits in the chair in a state of utter despondency, slumped over, and her body language telegraphs profound disengagement from the very activity she's supposed to be engaged in. Curator: Absolutely. Think about the societal expectations placed on women during that era. A woman was confined and expected to read within that prescribed social script. She’s embodying this ennui of intellectual containment. There's a tension between expected passive domesticity and perhaps the suppressed desires for a different kind of agency. Editor: I find myself drawn to how the artist uses light and shadow or rather, the relative absence of them. It almost looks as if she’s disappearing. A visual metaphor maybe for her fading sense of self within societal demands? The way she buries her face invites projections – she’s a symbol for repressed yearning, constrained intellect, lost potential. Curator: And it isn’t merely about lost potential but think of the period: enormous social upheaval, burgeoning feminist movements. Could this drawing subtly signify the tensions inherent in traditional roles, portraying the silent revolt brewing within? It's almost a quiet cry against confinement, against the silencing of female voices. Editor: Perhaps the 'book' itself becomes symbolic – not just as a portal to knowledge, but also as an instrument of control. Who decided what she should be reading? How does prescribed literature confine, rather than liberate, the imagination? I read rebellion into those drooping shoulders. Curator: It's compelling how you draw out those nuances from gesture alone. Considering Find’s context and artistic sensibilities, it's reasonable to see the artwork as more than a portrait but a commentary on those cultural shackles imposed on women. Editor: Seeing this simple pencil drawing has opened such avenues for discourse regarding subjugation. It is indeed a profound mirror reflecting struggles women underwent but equally of enduring relevance even now.